Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

BBC News

• Doncaster railway sleeper factory opensA new railway sleeper factory has been officially opened in South Yorkshire, creating about 45 jobs.
• VIDEO: How successful is the M6 toll road?It is ten years since the M6 toll road was opened but it has never managed to attract the number of vehicles it was forecast to carry.
• Labour calls for Villiers inquiryThe Labour Party calls for an investigation into allegations that the NI Secretary of State Theresa Villiers broke the ministerial code in her former job.
• Mayor bike 'scaring' claim withdrawnComments due to be made by London Mayor Boris Johnson about cycling protesters
• World's largest airline createdAmerican Airlines and US Airways complete their long awaited merger to launch the world's biggest airline.

ITV News

• Developers criticise multi-million pound Cambridge railway station plansDevelopers involved in creating a new multi-million pound railway station for Cambridge have heavily criticised the current plans for the site.

Financial Times

• American Airlines chief pledges efficient mergerDoug Parker said the long-planned merger with US Airways would result in a single airline with annual revenues of approaching $40bn

The Telegraph

• Locals could force councils to review parking charges by signing a petitionResidents could force councils to review their parking policies if enough people sign a petition, ministers say.    
• Ryanair halves excess baggage feeRyanair, the low-cost airline, has halved its excess baggage fee in a bid to improve its image    

Reuters News

• European flyers set to keep mobile gadgets switched onBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Passengers on European flights may soon be able to use mobile gadgets throughout their journeys, but they will have to wait a while before they can make telephone calls, the European Commission's transport chief said on Monday.
• UK proposes counting biofuel toward 2020 green energy targetBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain has proposed a way to lower the European Union's 2020 target for renewable energy by counting the contribution from biofuels twice, avoiding the need for billions of euros in investment, a document shows.

Mail Online

• Ministers bid to block report that says HS2 is in danger of failing Transport Secretary among those calling for PM to veto release they claim could seriously damage projectCabinet Office Minister Francis Maude and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin called on David Cameron to veto releasing a report that labelled HS2 ‘red/amber’ and in danger of failing.

Network Rail

• Check before you travel between London, Gatwick Airport and the south coast this ChristmasMore than 150 railway workers and engineers will upgrade the railway between London, Gatwick Airport and the south coast this Christmas as one of the biggest investments ever undertaken on the Brighton mainline is completed by Network Rail.
• Gravesend station investment means changes to journeys this Christmas
• Network Rail delivers first phase of North West electrificationElectric trains have started to operate over the railway between Newton Le Willows and Castlefield junction outside Manchester Piccadilly, marking the commissioning of the first phase of the £400m North West electrification project on time and under budget.
• Secretary of State for Transport opens new railway sleeper factory which is bringing new jobs to South YorkshireRt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport, today (Monday 9 December) officially opened a new state-of-the-art factory in Doncaster which will supply of thousands of essential sleepers to keep Britain’s railways running.

Belfast Telegraph

• Translink probe after bus driver 'refused to take blind man with guide dog'Translink has launched an investigation after one of its Ulsterbus drivers apparently refused to let a blind man on his vehicle because he was accompanied by his guide dog.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• New Bradford bus stop ’is facing wrong way’Queueing for a bus may be a very British custom, but it’s proving chaotic at three new city centre ’supershelters’, according to a councillor.
• Arriva to grant Christmas wishes A bus company which runs services in Bradford will be making dreams come true by granting a number of special Christmas wishes for its customers.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Welsh rail network is worst in Britain £24m planned to improve five train stations across Wales
• Chester train crash: wheels slid on tracks after light rain Reports reveals brakes could not stop train in time

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Bombardier will learn early next year on Crossrail, says...EARLY next year all eyes will be on Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin when the preferred bidder of the Crossrail rolling stock contract is announced. Derby train-maker Bombardier is in the running for the £1 billion carriages deal, which would secure the long-term future of the firm's Litchurch Lane factory. Bombardier is one of three companies bidding for the work – the others are Japan's Hitachi, which now has a factory in the north of the country and Spanish firm CAF. The...

Edinburgh Evening News

• Lothian Buses driver hailed for caring actionsA BUS driver who stopped mid-journey to care for an elderly woman who was lost in freezing conditions has been applauded for his “selfless” actions.

London Evening Standard

• Boris Johnson: cycling campaigners focusing on fatalities are scaring Londoners off roadsBoris Johnson will today accuse cycling campaigners using careless language of scaring people off London's roads.
• HGVs face charges for entering London after tough new measures are fast-trackedTough curbs on rogue lorries entering London are to be fast-tracked following the recent spate of cyclist deaths.
• Londoners want lower fares not late night trains on the Underground, survey findsLondoners believe lower Underground fares are more of a priority than late-night tube trains, a survey has found.

Wales Online

• Wales' stalled transport schemes are 'worthy of Monty Python sketch'Passenger campaign group Railfuture South Wales says a succession of groups and reports on Welsh schemes looked more like satire than transport policy

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds rail ‘rogues gallery’ police pleaA rogues gallery of Leeds thieves has been released by police as they urge people to take extra care on and around the railways over Christmas.

Carlisle News & Star

• Stobart Group gets go-ahead for new Carlisle depot Stobart Group is almost certain to build a massive new depot in Carlisle – even if its overhaul of the city’s airport is grounded.

Doncaster Free Press

• Festive bus service to help shoppers saveA Doncaster bus service is set to help shoppers save money this Christmas.    
• Festive bus service to help shoppers saveA Doncaster bus service is set to help shoppers save money this Christmas.    

Peterborough Telegraph

• Bus users can stop off at meetingBus users in Peterborough are encouraged to attend a meeting at the Town Hall to discuss changes to the service in the city.

Other Regional Press

• Councillors agree the way forward for rural bus servicesA number of subsidised rural bus services will be retained in 2014, following an extensive public consultation.
• Balfour Beatty starts on Glasgow’s £20m bus depotThe new facility on a 10-acre site on Cathcart Road will be the biggest bus depot in the UK with space for up to 450 buses and more than 1,200 employees.
• Bustrations - the adventures of a frustrated bus userHipperholme resident Steve Crabtree says his bus service has been making him and fellow passengers late for work and continues to let them down.
• Optimism as aerospace firm EADS picks Portsmouth as major siteSpace firm Astrium’s Hilsea site has been picked as one of three to be kept under a major shake-up of its operations.
• Caution over rail fare newsLancashire transport campaigners have poured cold water on news that rail fair rises for season ticket holders have been reduced.
• Man fined for throwing his ex-girlfriend’s suitcase onto the tracks at Bedford Railway StationA MAN who hurled a woman's case onto the tracks at Bedford Railway Station has been fined and order to pay her compensation.

Global Rail News

• Öresundstrafiken extends contract with Veolia TransportVeolia Transport has been awarded a new five-year contract to operate rail services on the Öresundstrafiken network. The deal, which includes an option for an additional two years, will see[...]
• Contractor appointed for Overground platform lengtheningTransport for London (TfL) today appointed leading construction and civil engineering firm Dyer and Butler as the contractor to lengthen and modify some of the station platforms on the Clapham[...]
• Dellner to supply gangways for IEP fleetHitachi Rail Europe has confirmed a £10 million order with Dellner for the gangways that will connect the UK’s future Intercity Express Programme (IEP) train fleet. As well as supplying[...]

Railnews

• Some regions have 'weak' rail services -- report New weekday timetables apply from today, and some of the improvements include 125mph running on the Midland Main Line for the first time. But a report commissioned by the Campaign for Better Transport claims that passengers in parts of Britain are being offered inferior train services compared with other, better regions. The report recommends that England, Scotland and Wales should each develop their own rail plans.
• Network Rail debt is set to come in from the cold Network Rail's debts of more than £30 billion could soon come out into the open, and be included as part of national borrowing for the first time. The Office of National Statistics has warned that changes in European statistical guidance could prompt the move, but the company is shrugging off the implications of such a reform, describing it as 'routine business' which will not affect investment plans.
• Midland Main Line celebrates at 125mph Faster trains on the Midland Main Line have been officially launched today by the transport secretary. Patrick McLoughlin, whose constituency is in Derbyshire, was at Derby station to mark the occasion. The launch of the new faster trains is the result of a £70 million Network Rail programme, in partnership with East Midlands Trains.

Aviation Industry

• Boris Island set to be ruled out?Adviser to London mayor fears project could fail to make airport shortlist
• American Airlines becomes world’s largest carrierMerger between American and US Airways is finally completed

Other News Sources

• Major £24m investment to transform five Welsh railway stationsA £24m European-backed programme to transform five railway stations across Wales has been announced by Transport Minister, Edwina Hart.